28 replies to this topic

[lookalive07]

http://www.thesmokin...t-being-average

Pretty interesting read in all.

[droz]

Once upon a time Draper was one of, if not the best face-off man in the league, that's not very average.

Edited by droz, 07 November 2011 - 08:42 PM.

[newfy]

Drapers prime had him making Olympic teams because of his PK ability.

I dont think average is how I would describe him at all, he was always one of the best defensive forwards in the game, one of, and probably the best for a while at PKing and was the best year in and year out on faceoffs.

Average offensively for a third liner maybe

[Scott Stevens]

In the words of the Rock, Draper knew his damn role, and he shut his damn mouth. Absolutely no reason to say anything negative about this guy. Saying any athlete that's won a prestigious award in his prime, numerous championships, and played 17 years in a professional sport is "average" is just a stupid observation. Kris Draper was a great bottom 6 forward.

[stevieisthebest]

If Draper was average, I want a team full of average players.

[Barrie]

Is it just me, or have guys like Draper, McCarty, and Maltby made role players cool?

Ever since the 1997 Cup run, when I played sports, I was ok being a role player if it was a sport I wasn't the best at. If I'm not the star it's fine. Just hustle, make my plays, and help the team win. The stars on the team appreciate the hard work and know you'll be there if they have a bad game.

The current sports I play in Leagues are Baseball and Flag Football (I'm past the age of wanting to get tackled ). To many times I've heard guys complain about where they're hitting in the order in Baseball, or not getting enough passes in Football. As already posted, just know your role and shut your mouth! I'll add, just go out there, play as a team, and win!

I'd much rather win a championship and be a role player, than be the star and not win.

Edit: Just read the article, I'm not a big fan of what was written, it almost made Draper seem like he was a right place at the right time guy, and was only lucky. Drapes was one of the hardest workers on the team! There was a reason he wore a "A" for a while.

I do however appreciate that he was mentioned.

Edited by Barrie, 07 November 2011 - 11:43 PM.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros]

Maybe its because when I was growing up, guys like McCarty, Draper, Maltby, Kocur, and Lapointe were such instrumental parts to our success, but I find myself liking the "grinders" and "role players" and "enforcers" more than the "stars". They don't get the publicity that the star players get, but their role is just as important. When I look at teams like Washington, many will admire Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Green. I always find myself liking guys like Jason Chimera and Matt Hendricks. It's not that I don't like watching guys like Kane and Toews make amazing plays and split defenses, but I appreciate the guys like Carcillo and Bickell, who work just as hard (if not harder), and don't get nearly the appreciation from the media. Not so say the media hates grinders, but they are often left in the shadows.

[Crymson]

Silly, obnoxious article. Obviously written by someone who knows little about hockey, too, as he failed to note Bure's presence on the Panthers.

[stinky fish taco]

Secret to moderate success: Played with guys way better than him for a long time, weak face.

on point right here

[stevkrause]

I think referring to any athlete who made it to the semi-professional ranks, let alone the pros and even further, one that had a LONG career at the highest level, as average, is down right asinine...

[VM1138]

Is it just me, or have guys like Draper, McCarty, and Maltby made role players cool?

Ever since the 1997 Cup run, when I played sports, I was ok being a role player if it was a sport I wasn't the best at. If I'm not the star it's fine. Just hustle, make my plays, and help the team win. The stars on the team appreciate the hard work and know you'll be there if they have a bad game.

They have. I've been teaching my ten year old brother a lot about sports. As a kid, he naturally wants to be the ball hog and superstar and when he can't he gets frustrated. I've used Maltby and Draper (he wouldn't really understand using McCarty) as examples of how you can help the team win by working hard and finding what you're good at, even if it's not scoring. He loved both those guys and eventually it'll hit home that being a great role player is just as important as being a superstar.

Maybe its because when I was growing up, guys like McCarty, Draper, Maltby, Kocur, and Lapointe were such instrumental parts to our success, but I find myself liking the "grinders" and "role players" and "enforcers" more than the "stars". They don't get the publicity that the star players get, but their role is just as important. When I look at teams like Washington, many will admire Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Green. I always find myself liking guys like Jason Chimera and Matt Hendricks. It's not that I don't like watching guys like Kane and Toews make amazing plays and split defenses, but I appreciate the guys like Carcillo and Bickell, who work just as hard (if not harder), and don't get nearly the appreciation from the media. Not so say the media hates grinders, but they are often left in the shadows.

It's a lot easier to relate to a guy like McCarty, who plays in a terrible rock band, than to Zetterberg, who owns a clothing line and married a supermodel.

[GSBrooks13]

There's nothing like being in the right place at the right time for over 17 years..

[Barrie]

I think referring to any athlete who made it to the semi-professional ranks, let alone the pros and even further, one that had a LONG career at the highest level, as average, is down right asinine...

Very true! Anyone who makes the semi-pros or pros, was by far the best player in his Leagues prior to making it big.

Also I think there's a lot of parents out there who need to realize if their kid isn't the best player in his League, he's got no chance at being a professional athlete.

[haroldsnepsts]

When you're talking about excelled at being average, I think of guys like Doug Brown more than Draper. Though even Brown had pretty good playoff numbers and could hang with the Russian 5. I'd even go with Maltby over Draper.

Draper had speed that was well beyond average. Plus faceoffs. Plus defensive play. It's strange to pick a guy as one of the top examples of average play when he won a Selke, but i think the traded for a dollar story has a lot to do with the choice.

[toby91_ca]

My first thought was that the author probably doesn't have a lot of experience in general. I don't know how old he is, but I do know that we was born sometime after 1986, so at the oldest, he's in his early 20s.

That said, I understand the point. Normally, for a guy to last in the NHL for 20 years, you are talking about STAR players, in a lot of cases, alltime greats. Draper is pretty average compared to most of the guys who have played that long. There is no doubt he is of average skill, which requires him to work so hard. The faceoff proficiency has been brought up and it's funny, if you look at who the best faceoff guys have been in the league, a lot of the best of the best are actually fairly average players.

Someone mentioned that calling anybody at the pro or semi pro level "average" is asinine...which I sort of agree with, but that term is used in context to other pro players, not to the general public.

Very true! Anyone who makes the semi-pros or pros, was by far the best player in his Leagues prior to making it big.

Also I think there's a lot of parents out there who need to realize if their kid isn't the best player in his League, he's got no chance at being a professional athlete.

This isn't always true, maybe at a high level. It's true that a lot of role players in the NHL were actually stars and big scorers in juniors and prior, but there are many, many exceptions to that. There are a lot of players that were grinders throughout, or were more of a scorer but still not the best on their team or even close to the best in the league.

Then you have enforcers.....different story obviously.

[Gordie Howe hat trick]

I just love how wrong he is on all of them too. "Bill Buckner well he blew the world series for Boston. Nevermind the runs that the pitching change allowed or that bobble in center field. All Buckner! And where does Buckner get off winning the batting title?!?!?! he is supposed to suck for the purpose of my article."

This is why I feel sports writing is bulls***, and amateur sports writing is even worse than that.

[achildr1]

Detroit loves average guys...

Brandon Inge, Bobby Higginson, Darren McCarty, Kid Rock (The literal embodiment of Taylor, MI)...

[jollymania]

Not really Drapes but definitely Jay Pandolfo.

[RedWingBlitz]

Playing for a long time at the professional level is not average.

average people get cut/released/waived.

this is a list of people who werent elite, but somehow contributed enough to be a professional.

[Casey]

Just finished a post defending the Draper. Doesn't need it, but why not.